Bull Elk Killings in Central Utah

Price -- Wildlife officers have solved three bull elk poaching cases in east-central Utah.
Now they need your help to solve seven more.

“The seven bulls were taken on the Central Mountains-Manti and the Wasatch Mountains bull elk hunting units in east-central Utah,” says Casey Mickelsen, a sergeant with the Division of Wildlife Resources.

“Each of the bulls was killed illegally and then left to rot,” says Ben Riley, another DWR officer who is investigating the shootings. “Each one that was lost means fewer hunting opportunities for hunters and fewer chances to see these bulls while camping and hiking.”

”We need the public’s help to catch the people who killed these animals,” Mickelsen says. If you have information, please call Mickelsen at (435) 820-6010. You are not have to give him your name.

Because most of the bulls that were killed are considered trophy animals under Utah state law, you might be eligible for a limited-entry elk bull permit for the 2010 season or a cash award if you have information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

In the photo that accompanies this story, conservation officers Brandon Baron, Casey Mickelsen and Ben Riley (L-R) are holding the sets of antlers from the three cases that have been successfully prosecuted. In front of them are the antler sets from the seven unsolved cases. (Each antler has a yellow tag next to it.):

#1 5x6 bull elk found on Oct. 18 on the Wasatch Mountains unit near Long Ridge in Utah County. Officers believe the elk was shot during the last week of the general-season spike elk hunt.

#2 Spike bull that was also found on Oct. 18 near Long Ridge in Utah County. Officers believe whoever killed the 5x6 bull killed this bull too. The person left the elk to rot.

#3 7x8 bull elk poached in October 2008 on Black Mountain in the Muddy drainage in Emery County. Although the bull was killed more than a year ago, officers haven’t closed the case. They’re still searching for clues that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed this trophy animal.

#4 5x6 bull elk poached in Seeley Canyon in Sanpete County during the first week of the 2009 general-season spike elk hunt. This elk may have been killed by a spike elk hunter who shot into a herd of elk. Officers think other hunters may have been in the area and may have witnessed the shooting.

#5 6x6 bull elk poached near the intersection of the Buck Flat all-terrain vehicle trail and the North Face Road on Ferron Mountain in Sanpete County. This bull was probably shot during the last few days of the 2009 general-season spike bull hunt. Whoever shot this bull dragged it behind an ATV and then covered it with branches and logs. Officers hope another hunter may have seen someone dragging an elk with an ATV.

#6 6x6 bull elk discovered on Sept. 28 on the Central Mountains-Manti unit near the Indian Creek drainage in Emery County. The elk was shot and left not far from the Spoon Creek trailhead. Officers believe the elk was killed during the last week of the early limited-entry elk hunt. A limited-entry elk hunter may have shot the animal and then left it to try to find an even bigger elk to kill.


#7 6x6 bull elk poached during the overlapping 2009 muzzleloader deer/muzzleloader limited-entry bull elk hunt. The carcass was found in the canyon directly east of the Indian Creek Campground at the base of East Mountain in Emery County. Officers think a muzzleloader elk hunter may have shot the bull.

Upcoming Utah State Parks Events

Photo by Ron Stewart, DWR

January 21 Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum - Vernal

Vegetation and Urban Watersheds: Join Dr. Nicholas Allmendinger, hydrologist at Utah State University - Uinta Basin Campus, for a lecture on vegetation and urban watersheds at 7 p.m. (435) 789-3799

January 23 Wasatch Mountain State Park - Midway

Homemade Birdfeeders: Join us from 10 to 11 a.m. at the visitor center to learn about backyard birds and ways to attract them to your yard through homemade bird feeders. Bring empty milk jugs, egg cartons, or soda bottles. (435) 654-1791

January 23 Jordanelle State Park - Heber

Avalanche Education: Join park staff and the Utah Avalanche Center from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Hailstone Event Center for a class on avalanche and snow safety. Due to the rising number of young avalanche victims, this class is geared toward families with junior high and high school-age children who spend time in the mountain settings.  (435) 649-9540

Apply now for Utah's Dedicated Hunter program

You can hunt all three general buck deer seasons for the next three years if your application is drawn to join Utah’s Dedicated Hunter program.

And you can hunt those seasons in the region of your choice.

Applications to join the program will be accepted starting Jan. 4. Before you can apply, however, you must complete the program’s free online orientation course. The course will teach you more about the program.

You can take the course at www.wildlife.utah.gov/dh .

“The Dedicated Hunter program is a great program for the state’s deer hunters and for the state’s wildlife,” says Rhianna Christopher, volunteer services coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

“The program gives participants a chance to help mule deer and other wildlife by helping with habitat projects,” she says. “In return, you get to hunt deer all three seasons in the region of your choice.”

Christopher says the program is capped at 10,000 hunters. About 4,000 spots are open for 2010.

To be included in the draw to join the program, your application must be received no later than 11 p.m. on Jan. 19.

In addition to the required orientation course, www.wildlife.utah.gov/dh  also provides an overview of the program. You can also call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or (801) 538-4711 for more information.

Big Game Hunt Changes include a Five-day Rifle Hunt

Salt Lake City -- For most hunters, Utah’s most popular hunt—the general rifle buck deer hunt—will be shorter in 2010.

By a 4-to-2 vote, the Utah Wildlife Board approved a recommendation to shorten Utah’s general rifle buck deer hunt from nine days to five days for hunters who are 19 years of age or older on Aug. 21. (Aug. 21 is the first day of the state’s 2010 general archery buck deer hunt.)

Hunters who are 18 years of age or younger on Aug. 21 can hunt for nine days.

The following are the dates the board approved:

Hunter age                        Season dates
19 years of age or older       Oct. 23 – 27
18 years of age or younger   Oct. 23 – 31

Also, on five units where buck-to-doe ratios are lower than 15 bucks per 100 does—the Cache; Ogden; Oquirrh-Stansbury; South Slope, Vernal; and Monroe units—the rifle hunt will run for three days:


Hunter age Season dates
All ages        Oct. 23 – 25

The Division of Wildlife Resources had recommended to the board a nine-day rifle hunt for all hunters in the state, regardless of their age.

The only exception the DWR recommended to the nine-day hunt was limiting the hunt to five days on the five units that have buck-to-doe ratios that are below 15 bucks per 100 does.

The board did approve a DWR proposal to allow general archery hunters to hunt across the state during the entire general archery season in 2010. (In 2009, general archery hunters had to choose which region they wanted to hunt in during the first two weeks of the hunt.)

All of the changes the board approved at its Dec. 3 meeting will be available in the 2010 Utah Big Game Guidebook. The guidebook is now available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks .

Archery hunting across Utah

For years, hunters in southern Utah have expressed concerns about how crowded the area appears to be during the general archery buck deer hunt.

To gather information about the number of archers who hunt in each region, last year the DWR recommended, and the board approved, a change for the 2009 season: archery hunters would have to choose which region they wanted to hunt in during the first two weeks of the hunt.

Based on the regions hunters chose, and the acres of public land that have deer habitat, the DWR has determined that the Southern Region is actually the least crowded region in the state. “The data shows that archery hunters are not the main reason the Southern Region seems crowded during the archery hunt,” says Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR.

The data Aoude is referring to is available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings/info/09-11-08.pdf .

Aoude says southern Utah is a very popular place to camp and hike in late summer. That may be the main reason the Southern Region seems crowded during the archery hunt. “We don’t feel we should restrict and penalize archery hunters because other people enjoy being in the woods too,” he says.

Aoude says archers can be part of the crowding in the region, but that situation isn’t unique to the Southern Region—it happens in every region in Utah. “There are certain areas in every region that are popular and draw a lot of hunters,” he says.

A committee helped the DWR draft its statewide archery recommendation. The committee included three archery hunters from southern Utah, two members of the Utah Bowhunter’s Association, two members of Bowhunters of Utah and Bill Fenimore, a member of the Utah Wildlife Board.

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.

Cisco Disco planned at Bear Lake State Park

Photo Courtesy Phil Douglass

Garden City – Do the Cisco Disco at Cisco Beach on the east side of Bear Lake Saturday, January 23 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Cisco are small whitefish that make their annual run through Bear Lake. Dip a net into the water and catch your share.

After the Cisco Disco, drive to Garden City on the west side of Bear Lake for a variety of events. At noon, take an icy swim during the Bear Lake Monster Plunge at Bear Lake State Park Marina; from 2 to 4 p.m. visit Garden City Park and participate or cheer athletes in the cross country ski and snowshoe 5K races; or build or view designs at the snow sculpting contest. Enjoy all day ice skating (bring your own skates). Cocoa and snacks will be served.

For additional information, visit http://www.bearlakechamber.com/ , http://www.bearlake.org/  or call 800-448-BEAR (2327).

Freezin' for a reason at Hyrum State Park

Photos by Lyn Rees

Hyrum -- Hyrum State Park hosts the 2010 Polar Plunge Saturday, January 16 at noon to benefit the Utah Special Olympics. Participants donate $25 for the privilege of jumping into the icy water, all to benefit a great cause. Registration begins at 10 a.m.

More than 100 participants are currently registered, including a few Super Plungers who will jump every hour for 24 hours beginning at 1 p.m. Friday, January 15. Dress in a costume or come as you are! For more information, please visit http://sout.org/ .

Bear Pursuit Changes for 2010 approved

Salt Lake City -- Three areas that are popular places to pursue bears with dogs should be quieter this summer.

On Jan. 6, the Utah Wildlife Board approved the following bear pursuit changes on the Book Cliffs, San Juan and La Sal units in eastern Utah:

* The number of permits offered to pursue bears with dogs will be limited this summer. And the summer pursuit season has been split into an early season and a late season. The following number of permits will
be available:

Early season
Unit                     Season dates            Resident     Nonresident
Book Cliffs           July 8 - 22                  15               2
San Juan               July 8 - 22                  18               2
La Sal                   July 8 - 22                  12               1

Late season
Unit                     Season dates            Resident    Nonresident
Book Cliffs           July 29 - Aug. 12       15              2
San Juan               July 29 - Aug.12        18              2
La Sal                   July 29 - Aug. 12       12              1

The season dates have been set so no pursuit takes place during the July 24 weekend, which is a state holiday in Utah. (There’s a seven-day break between the two pursuit seasons.)

* The number of hounds houndsmen can use to pursue bears on ANY unit in the state during the summer pursuit season will also be limited. 

Houndsmen may not use more than eight hounds to pursue a single bear in the summer.
This change applies to the summer pursuit season only. The number of dogs houndsmen can use during the spring and fall pursuit and hunting seasons is not limited.

Those changes -- and more permits for bear hunts this spring and fall -- are among changes the board approved at their meeting in Salt Lake City.

All of the changes the board approved will be available in the 2010 Utah Black Bear Guidebook. The guidebook should be available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks by late January.

A quieter summer
The Book Cliffs, San Juan and La Sal units are three of the most popular places in Utah to pursue bears with trained hounds.  Unfortunately, that popularity has caused some problems. “Last summer, we received more than 150 complaints from campers, hikers and others who were recreating in the area,” says Justin Dolling, game mammals coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

“Some of the houndsmen were using as many as 20 hounds to pursue a single bear,” Dolling says. “When these hounds get on a bear’s track, they bark a lot, and they’re extremely noisy. The noise and the commotion they and the houndsmen caused bothered some of the people who were camping and hiking in the area.”

More hunting permits
The board also approved more hunting permits for this year’s bear hunts.

In 2009, a total of 319 permits were available. The board approved 368 permits for 2010. Based on an average success rate of just over 40 percent, the extra 49 permits should result in hunters taking about 21 additional bears in 2010. In 2009, hunters took 147 bears in Utah.


First spot and stalk only hunt
The board also approved Utah’s first spot and stalk only hunt. This hunt will be held in the Roadless area in the Book Cliffs. Hunters may not use hounds during the hunt. “Very few bear hunters hunt this area,” Dolling says. “As a result, the bear population is growing. Horseback riders and big game hunters are encountering more and more bears in the area.”

The area’s small size is among the challenges houndsmen face in taking bears in the area. The hounds can chase bears off the unit before the hunters take the bears.

“That’s why we decided to go with a spot and stalk hunt,” Dolling says. “There are plenty of bears in the area, so there’s a good chance that spot and stalk hunters will find success. And the chance that a spot and stalk hunter chases a bear off the unit before he or she takes it is much lower than those hunting with hounds.”

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.